About the client

Our client is one of the largest independent power producers in the nation, with capacity to generate more than 50,000 megawatts of electricity across the US. The company’s generating assets, strategically located throughout the state, use natural gas, oil and coal. Headquartered in Houston, the company earns $20 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 8,000 people. It is the second largest mass-market electricity provider – and number one retail electricity provider for Texas businesses.

Client Needs

Power generation was a pretty uneventful business in Texas until the state deregulated the market. In response, our client began to offer an array of products, flexible service options, and pricing arrangements to a variety of customers. But with most electricity contracts ranging in duration from one to three years, competition grew exponentially after deregulation. The company needed to preserve its leadership position in the Texas marketplace by continuing to acquire new customers and retain existing ones despite a flood of competitors nipping at its heels.

The Netpique Solution

Netpique executives knew the client could never meet its customer acquisition and retention goals without deploying a dedicated sales force in the field. With all the new competition unleashed by deregulation, they could not afford to sit back and wait for potential new customers to find them. And their existing customer base was being bombarded with tempting offers from competitors. They needed to act fast. So we worked closely with the company’s executives to craft a working model that would meet their sales needs. Then we chose from the top local sales talent, brought the best performers on board, provided intensive training and turned them loose in one strategic market at a time.

Rationale

In a hotly contested situation like this, nothing beats face-to-face selling. Netpique knew a dedicated sales force in the field was the most effective method for targeting lucrative new accounts and holding onto existing ones. We also knew speed was key, so we proposed a schedule as aggressive as the competition: to get the client’s dedicated sales force up and running within just 30 working days. Not by cutting corners but by drawing on our expertise in candidate selection, training and management. This allowed the client to keep its focus on the big picture without the need for restructuring operations or diverting resources to ramping up a massive sales effort. Finally, we knew the solution would have to be scalable as competition grew.

Netpique Results

It was challenging, but Netpique successfully launched a team consisting of one sales manager and 15 sales representatives seamlessly and transparently within the promised 30 days. By the 90-day mark, the client had acquired nearly 20,000 annualized megawatt hours of new business – more than double the results they had ever achieved by any other sales pursuit or channel. Building on this early success, the client directed us to scale the channel aggressively to five sales mangers and nearly 90 sales representatives within the state of Texas alone.

Energizing Sales

With deregulation, the competition heats up. Our energy sector client asked us to help them deal with the challenges of deregulation by creating a custom-built sales force that could be selected, hired, trained and fully deployed on an aggressive timeframe. With our expertise in outsourcing field sales teams, we were able to deploy a small initial force within an astounding 30 working days. Once we turned on the juice, results were impressive: an increase of nearly 800% in megawatt hours in four short months. After 90 days the client asked us to scale up the operation exponentially.

The client remains pleased with Netpique’s performance: “We never thought anyone could deliver on such an aggressive set of goals. But Netpique made it happen. They put terrific sales professionals on the ground where we needed them, and gave us stunning results. The best part is, we didn’t have to shift focus away from our core business. Netpique is helping us thrive in a hypercompetitive marketplace.”

Can Netpique Help You?

Contact us and see. With input from you, we’ll develop a fully customized solution that leverages the power of outsourced dedicated field sales to help your company achieve its goals. Call Netpique at 386-246-3149.